The Other Heroes
by lowdes01
Summary: York is a confident, intelligent, but introverted teen. Past scars inhibit him from making many friends, but everything changes after being caught in the death game, Sword Art Online. (Fits in with Canon, kind of. Small Chapters, Frequent Updates.) I'm new to writing so any suggestions are welcome. By the off chance that anyone likes editing, guess who has an open slot for you? Me.
1. Chapter 1

And just like that, the towering, hooded figure vanished leaving all of us players wondering what to do. Some people just broke down, and cried; others laughed hysterically, but most just stood there, taking it all in. Was it real? Are we really trapped here? Are our lives in this game directly linked to ours in real life? I had to take a breather, I left the central plaza and sat on one of the benches, and that's when I first met Seth. He looked just as worse for wear as me, tall, dark haired and good looking, Seth was your stereotypical rich boy asshole. "Hey bro, do you think he was legit," he asked me. "Something tells me he wasn't joking," I replied. "Yeah I was really hoping he was just doing that for an event or something." "I'm York, nice to meet you." He looked at me with a sympathetic smile, "Name's Seth, it's a shame we had to meet in such bad pretenses." I nodded and we sat there, contemplating our situation. I started up and he followed, "Well York, you seem to be a nice guy, so how about we partner up for now and try to make sure things don't get too crazy around here?" I liked him despite his cocky demeanor, I replied, "Yeah, I always wanted to help those who couldn't help themselves, I guess now is the time to start." And with that we both headed towards the Central Plaza, leaving our fears behind in hopes of getting through this nightmare.

As we were walking to the Central Plaza I started getting to know Seth. "So, how old are you IRL, Seth?" "I'm 17, currently in High School, and before all this I was interested into going into medicine, you?" I was kind of shocked by his sincerity, "I am 16 on a scholarship who is planning on going into Criminal Justice." He looked at me with a silly smile, "Awh man, I feel like best friends after a 5 minute walk, funny how disasters can bring us together eh?" "Yeah Seth, just hilarious." "Sooooooo, York, do you have any friends you wanted to find while we're at this." Ha! If only he knew, "No, none of my friends were really gamers," I lied. He looked actually kind of relieved, "Well that's good, at least they're safe in the real world. I really need to find my neighbor, she's kind of a dork, but she's really nice." At this point I knew Seth was a nice guy, but I kept on getting shocked by his kindness, I replied, "Don't worry man, we'll find her." He smiled and said, "Thanks man, you're a good guy. Let's go help out some of the others get their bearings, we got a friend to find and a game to beat." Yeah, a game to beat alright. I will not allow myself to be defeated; I York Justice shall conquer this game and free all of these people. With those roaming thoughts, Seth and I plunged deeper into the plaza, helping all the children get to inns and inviting some others into our party.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO: Point of View – YORK

Heads up! The entire "Crime" system in this SAO works differently, while in a town, only "seen" crimes will count against the player. If either an NPC or a player views a crime, the player cursor will change to orange.

By the time Seth and I had left the Starting City, we had met a lot of new people and learned some more mechanics of the game. First we met Sasha, a woman who was trying to get all the small children to a safe place. She was a small, brown haired-woman with green eyes. I liked her personality; she seemed nice and had a good head on her shoulders, but I had to make sure she was actually going to protect the children so I sent one of Seth's friends to keep an eye on her. We actually managed to find a lot of Seth's friends, except his neighbor; we still couldn't find her. Together there were five of us: York, Alex, Sara, Sven, and me. Sven was busy watching Sasha, so there were only four us.

All the people around me were shocked, terrified, and scared, but I knew that would help nothing. The only thing that would get us out of the game was to clear the top floor, so for the time being we needed to focus on leveling up and finding the first boss. I turned to Seth and told him, "Get your guys and head to Ceret Town, I'll be there after a quick detour." He replied, "What are you doing man?" "I just have to look into something, OK?" He started to look worried, "Fine, but don't do anything crazy, everyone is still so confused, and nobody knows what to do, it's up to the natural leaders to get things started, and I really don't want my first VR friend to get killed by some level 1 boars or something." It was kind that he was concerned, but I had to leave now," Don't worry Seth, it'll be an hour at the most. He nodded and turned to his friends in default armor, "Come on noobs; let's get to Ceret Town." And just like that I was alone on a floor with 10,000 players.

I wandered around aimlessly. How could this be happening? Me, York Justice, the best and brightest of my whole school, trapped in a fantasy VR world. When I looked in the mirror today and saw the blond, tall, and lean teenager I never thought this was how I'd spend my Friday night. While I pondered around my situation, I saw a huge asshole bullying an attractive teenaged girl. "Hey sexy, why don't we make the best out of this situation and head to an inn?" She looked at him with utter disgust, "Back off dude, I want to sulk in peace."

I like this girl. She's got a sarcastic tongue.

He grabbed her on the shoulder and shoved her down "Too bad you're gonna come with me anyway." At this time I had saw enough, I sprinted to the thug and tackled him. I looked at the piece of shit and muttered, "Don't you fucking dare, grab a woman that way, or I will crucify you on the bones of your family." He tried to slug me, but I quickly dodged it and kicked him in his head and with that I saw the debuff "Unconscious" appear above him. She looked at me with an appreciative smirk and said, "Well, my knight in cloth armor has arrived to save me. What is your name sir knight?"

There was that sarcastic undertone again. I was really warming up to this girl.

"The name is York", I said with a cocky smirk. She looked me in the eyes, "Well still, thank you. I appreciate your kindness; I'm so scared right now." I sat down next to her and placed my arm over her shoulder as she sobbed into my chest, "Come on, unnamed female, I have some friends for you to meet."


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3: POV- Seth Brigade

I suck at writing dialogue so I'm just going to write it very simply.

Seth- How do I read this god forsaken map, Alex?

Alex- IDK, bro, let's just read the tutorial stuff for a second.

Seth- NEVER! We press on until we perish at the hands of wildlife.

Sara- Seth! Sit down, we have to meet back up with York, so we will find out how to use the map and get to the town.

Seth- I shall do it for York and nothing more.

Alex- I don't know why you like him, seriously, the guy is an arrogant asshole.

Seth- Trust me, there's more to York than it seems. I think he would make a nice leader. Someone has to step up in this madness.

Alex- I refuse to trust him. He could easily kill us in our sleep.

Sara- Enough! We'll sort out this madness later, for now we trust him and try our best to survive.

Seth- Yeah Alex, you cynical asshole.

Alex- Whatever bro.

A silence passes...

Seth- We're still bros.

Alex- I'm sorry man, I trust your judgment.

Sara- Good, now we read the digital tutorials.

Seth- Let's get this over with.

3 hours pass but the squad makes it to town. But there is no sign of York.

Seth- Now we play the waiting game.

Alex- Please shut up, man.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four - POV - Rose

So I wake up, put on my Nerve Gear and get trapped in a virtual fantasy game. Pretty interesting Friday if you ask me. So right off the bat, I was sexually harassed and threatened by a stranger. But my luck changed when York, the serious and charming blond rescued me. Now we're walking to Ceret Town getting to know each other. "So where were you born, York?" I asked. He looked back at me "The real question is, WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" I looked at him mischievously and said, "You can call me Rose." "So that's not your real name." I stared back at him, "Nope."

As we neared the town, he pointed towards some boars. "Hey Rose, lets get some loot." And with that he sprinted into the open field.

I couldn't believe how fluidly he moved. He actually got the agro of several of them and made a train-like line of boars. Once they got close enough he activated his sword skill *Slant* over and over until he reached the end of his train.

"Woo, look at all that FURRRR we just got from these pigs. I am gonna make such good armor from this!" he laughed and smiled like a normal person, despite his usual sulky attitude. So this is what made York happy, violence and success, I could get use to him. I looked at him and asked, "So is that the kind of weapon you prefer to use?" He responded, "Well, for right now yes, but I plan on getting new gear soon, so that's open for change." He looked into my eyes and asked, "So Miss Rose, what is your weapon of choice?" I never really looked into it, but I think I knew what I was planning on using, "A dagger." "Well, I think that would suit you well, oh look, the town's just a few yards ahead of us. We need to go to the inn and meet up with my friends." I was a bit nervous, but If York's friends were half as decent as he was, I'd love to share their company.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Introductions: York

So Rose and I asked the NPC innkeeper what room Seth was in, and he told us room 4. We entered to an odd scene; Seth was holding Alex hostage with a pillow while Sara was eating a pile of chocolate all to herself. I broke the event with a loud command, "Guys, it's time to get serious, we have a new Recruit, Rose." Standing a meager five foot four inches, rose was a small girl. Rose was a beautiful young girl with her long, flowing black hair and a few freckles on her face. She couldn't have been more than 16. She had a skinny figure and had a semi-flat chest but had curves that could kill."

"Hello everyone, I'm Rose, it's a pleasure to meet you." Everyone fixated her eyes on her. Seth was the first to break the silence, "The pleasure is ours, Rose. I'm Seth, the moody red head next to me is Alex and the chocolate eating girl is Sara." Alex rose to his feet and announced, "I'm Alex Stone, if you need anything, I'm your man." Rose was the last to follow, with a goofy smile she practically whispered, "I'm Sara Green, I hope we all get along."

Now I saw Rose sizing up the group. She first scanned Seth, our goofy, aloof, but charismatic brunette. His hair was shirt, but sleek. His face was well designed with strong cheekbones and an elegant smile. Standing around six foot one, Seth towered over Alex and Sara. He obviously played sports, you could tell by his sculpted biceps. Next she turned her attention to Sara.

The quiet blonde was standing nervously. She was taller than Rose, but not by much. Five foot six, Rose was a cute girl with big brown eyes. With flawless teeth and a pale complexion, Rose was your typical sheltered, middle-income, only child. Skinny to the point of only bone and flesh, Rose was certainly not going to be our tank. Lastly she turned her gaze to Alex.

Stocky and serious, Alex was usually cold and distant. The only person he lightened up towards was Seth. He had crimson red hair that rested along his shoulders. He had piercing green eyes and long eyelashes. His teeth were sharp and straight. His ears pointed out a bit more than they should, making him look goofy, a contrast to his very solemn disposition.

After she finished taking everyone in she asked, "I thought there was one more?" I was the one to answer, "There is. Sven is on his way now; he just messaged me that everything is clear. He should be here any moment. And just like that the silent giant burst in through the doors. Sven was more than six foot six with a huge body. The Titan stood before us before he introduced himself with, "Sup?" Seth burst with excitement after seeing him, "Sven, you sexy beast! What's the situation in the starter city?" He spoke with a dark and muffled voice, "People are still confused, but things have calmed down for the most part. Sasha is good. She's going to be an ally for us." Seth was genuinely pleased with the news and said l, "Good, speaking of allies, here is Rose." Sven and her exchanged pleasantries until I cut the meeting short, "Guys, everyone grab a chair, we have a lot to discuss."

And like that group "Tarot" was formed.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Debriefing: POV: York

"Okay, guys, so here's the info we have:

If we die in the game, the Nerve Gear fries our brain in real life.

To get out alive, we have to beat the 100th floor.

Each floor has one boss guarding to entrance to the next level, but that's all I got. Anyone got anything else?"

Sven surprisingly took charge and shared his info; "I'm a hardcore MMO gamer, and I've learned this through the beta and the SAO Wiki:

"There are a limitless number of both combat and noncombat abilities. Skills range from 2-Handed Swords to Enchantment. The highest level someone can achieve in any skill is 1000. You can have only a finite level of skills early on, but, after reaching level 10, any number of skills can be equipped and leveled.

"As far as weapons go, anything melee goes. You got clubs, spears, swords, you name it. There are SOME ranged weapons, like throwing knives, but they're rare.

"The leveling system is a bit weird; whenever you level up you get more points to allocate to your stats. There are three main stats: Strength; which measures how much you can carry, the ease of using a heavy weapon, and what kind of armor you work well with, next is Vitality; which measures your HP and the rate at which it recovers. It also governs your recovery time from debuffs. Agility is the third attribute. It measures your speed, critical hit rate, swing time with weapons, and air recovery.

"Questing is actually extremely innovative in SAO. Most quests have an impact on the floor you're on. Say you have a quest that requires you to exterminate a giant ant mound, the rate at which Giant Ants spawn in that area decreases. Some quests even award new skills to the person, or persons, who complete it.

"The crafting system is really in depth in this game. Although most people think that all we need are strong warriors to clear the game, that's wrong; we really need a mix of non-combat specialists and combatants. Now, for crafting; blacksmiths can refine, upgrade, and craft weapons and/or armor. Enchanters can place special properties on weapons and armor that buff it or change how the item works completely.

"Items can be used anywhere, but some areas prohibit the use of Teleport Gems (TP).

"Combat flows very fast paced. There are 3 main components to combat: weapon skills, free form, and linking. Weapon skills are system created moves that are powerful, but take a lot of energy to use. Fighting free-form is difficult, but has limitless efficiency. Linking relates to how you link together your attacks with other combatants.

Are there any questions?"

I gazed at him open mouthed, "**Holy Shit**, Sven, thanks for the info!" He looked back at me stoically and said, "No prob, bro."

At this point, Seth stood up to make an announcement, "Okay, guys, so, everyone wants to make it out alive, right?" We all nodded in agreement. "Then from this point on, we're in this together." I picked up where he left off, "Guys, we WILL get out alive, but first we have to get stronger. I trust all of you, I would be happy if we would remain teammates. If you guys don't mind, I think we should upgrade this party to a guild. I understand if they're objections, but that's my opinion." Seth was the first to voice his thoughts, "I agree completely with you York." Everyone else murmured with approval. Alex was the one to ask the real question, "Who should be our Leader?" Sara immediately answered with Seth, but Rose quickly countered Sara's vote with my name. I guess Alex didn't care, because he said nothing. It was at a friendly deadlock until Sven broke the silence, "Both of them have great characteristics for a leader, I believe both should be our guild leaders, Co-captains, for a more familiar term." I liked the idea. This was primarily Seth's group, so I figured he would be the leader. Seth started to speak, "All good to me, York's a cool dude." Rose spoke with a hurried tone, "Awesome, two handsome guild leaders." With a bright vision of hope, I looked out of the rustic inn window and sarcastically said, "Meeting adjourned."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Origin: POV-York

We're going to have a celebration for the guild later today, and I'd like to get to know everybody a bit better, but I'm not sure if they really need to know me. I hate getting close to people because every time I do, bad times ensue. I might be beautiful, intelligent, and charming, but I really never needed friends or allies, but it's different in now. I have the power now to make a difference, a real difference. This is what I've wanted my entire life, a chance to be the hero everyone needed. I still try and get over my parent's death, and most of the time, I can push through the pain, but lately I've been thinking about how weak I really am. I always thought that the reason I pushed people away from me was because I didn't need them, but the truth is, I've always been afraid of having my compassion and love for other people being turned against me and used to ridicule me. In the real world: I was a perfect student, a talented boxer, and obviously a narcissist, but now, I'm the same as everyone else. A level one noob who's trying to get his bearings in this game. My friend Virgil always told me about how I had the potential to be a great person or the worst one in existence. I actually miss Virgil, he was my only friend throughout my entire life. He was almost like a bigger brother to me. He's the one who told me about SAO, thanks Virgil. He was the one who kept me out of trouble in school, always telling me to mind my temper when someone was lacking respect for their teacher or classmate. Looking back at it, I realize how much he has done for me, and that gives me one more reason to get out of this game alive, to thank Virgil for everything.

I'm not the type to try to be philosophical. I see things for how they plainly are, and that's why I don't care if I'm "boring." My life is mine, and I won't let anyone try to change that. People always told me that I was, condescending, self-righteous, and shallow, but there is more depth to me than there appears to be. My in-game player name was a reflection of that. Although I generally went by my actual name "York," a stranger would only know me as "Hierophant."

I'm dropping all of my negativity now. This world of Swords needs a leader, and I will be damned if I let someone lesser than me take power over others. We need people that will go to every length to protect the innocent and for right now the only person I know that will do so with absolute certainty is me. I trust the others of Tarot, but I'm not certain of their ability yet.

Seth continues to astonish me, he's both goofy, but highly intelligent. I like him, it's a pleasure to have someone like him helping me manage this group. I really feel that together, we can free these 10,000 players.

I enjoy Sara's company. She's a quiet girl, but when it comes down to it, she voices her opinions. She's already made it clear that for right now, she doesn't want to have a combat role, which is fine, because we will eventually need an enchanter/blacksmith.

Alex seems like an asshole, so I like him. He's cynical, untrusting of others, but intensely serious. I know he dislikes me, but I don't hold anything against him. I know what it's like to be in his shoes.

Sven is one amazing dude. He's a hulking giant, but he knows more about SAO than anyone. He was a beta tester for SAO and was one of the highest levels then. He's really nice too, and we've already decided that we will be hunting together tomorrow.

Rose is a beautiful girl. She reminds me a lot of a girl I once knew. The only difference is, Rose hasn't broke my heart. Yet. She's very witty and sarcastic, and extremely verbal with her beliefs, a complete contrast to Sara's personality. I helped her out on day one and since then, she's treated me with nothing but respect, so it's only natural for me to look out for the black-haired angel.

When everyone wakes up, I suppose I'll open up to them. It's only fair since they're trusting me to manage their guild, I should be more than willing to let them know who I really am. Maybe things can be different now. Maybe I can be the person I always aspired to be. A hero.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Breaking Point: POV York

Sven and I and woke up early to start our grinding. After scouting out the area around the starting city, Sven and I found a low level area where boars and wolves spawned at a good rate. We were relatively alone except for a black-haired swordsman that arrived shortly after us. His avatar's name was Kirito. After Sven finished the last creature we were hunting, we gestured him to come over.

"Hey Kirito. Are you also getting a head start on grinding?" He looked a bit remorseful when he answered us, "Yeah, I guess I am. Am I bothering you two?" Sven answered his self-conscious question before I could, "Not at all man, just making sure you're good." He gestured me to finish this conversation, "So are you a solo player?" He almost immediately answered, "Yes, I am." Although I knew he didn't want to, I figured I should at least put my offer out there, "Well, if you ever have any interest in joining a guild, Tarot has a place for everyone, even non-combatants." Kirito flashed a smile of relief, "Thanks for the offer guys. It's nice to know that some people are looking out for each other right now, but for now, I'm only interested in solo playing right now." I answered him, "Alright, fair enough, I'm York and he's Sven." Kirito looked back at us and said, "Well, Hierophant and Golem- I mean York and Sven, it was a pleasure to meet you guys, but I have to finish this quest." Wait so this guy already has a quest? "Who is the quest giver?" He answered with a crisp clearness and surprising confidence, "The town crier of Amber Village." And with that he left. "I liked him." Sven replied a bit later, "yeah me too."

After Sven and I were able to raise enough Col we headed to town and bought some new weapons. For me, a dirk. It was a standard *Iron Dirk* and Sven purchased a 2-Handed War Hammer, *Iron Mauler*. We had got enough raw materials from the boars and wolves for Sara to craft us some new armor, but Sven didn't intend on using that kind of armor so we purchased him some cheap bronze armor. His final equipment page read:

Head- Open bronze helm (worn)

Shoulders- bronze shoulder guard (worn)

Torso- Heavy Bronze Chest Piece (worn)

Arms- bronze bracers (worn)

Legs- bronze shin plates (worn)

Feet- bronze boots (worn)

With the overwhelming amount of bronze metal on him, Sven looked kind of ridiculous, but somewhat impressive. At least he lived up to his Avatar's name now, "Golem."

He asked me, "What level are you now, York?" "I'm three now," I answered. My skills weren't that impressive, but they were definitely improving:

Short-swords=25/1000

Critical Evasion= 16/1000

Parrying= 12/1000

After we finished equipping out new items, I got a message from Rose. "Come back to Ceret ASAP, Alex and Seth made a breakthrough." After I explained it to Sven we made our way back to Ceret. After about 30 minutes of fighting off pitifully weak *Frenzy Boars* we made it back to the 12 building village.

Standing plainly in the middle of the town square was Seth shoving a bagel into Alex's mouth, "You are in desperate need of nutrition!" Seth shouted. Alex fought back by screaming, "I swear to God, Seth. If you don't get that out of my face I will really kill yo..." And then the bagel went in. Alex knelt to the ground coughing while Seth patted him on the back apologetically. Alex then grabbed a nearby pile of diet and pushed it into Seth's mouth. "No! My 17 years of perfect oral hygiene ruined!" "Fuck you Seth. Get serious you dumbass!" I was tired of Seth's antics at this point so I grabbed Seth's shoulder and pulled him to the side, "It's nice that you're trying to lighten the mood, but don't antagonize Alex, leave that to me." With a surprisingly straight face, Seth apologized to Alex and told him he'd never do it again. Alex lightened up a bit after the serious apology. Sara and Rose came out of the inn's front door and greeted Sven and I. Rose was the first to speak, "We figured out that almost all NPC's will give a quest if you talk with them enough, while you two were away we got 4 quests." I was shocked by the astounding number of quests, "Nice, share them through the guild menu." "Already have, we need to get some boar fur, boar tusks, wolf pelts, and wolf fangs," Rose told me. Sven looked at me with a smile that could melt frozen hearts, "Where do we turn them in at?" She answered plainly, the innkeeper, his wife, the merchant, and John the lumberjack." I told them that Sven and I told them about our mad grinding this morning and they were genuinely impressed. We divided up the loot and all went to turn in on the quests.

When we all met back up in the town square, I noticed that everyone else had equipped themselves with fresh gear.

Seth had a plain, brown leather attire and a new long sword.

Alex had mix matched hide and cloth armor with an iron cutlass.

Sara had thin stylish clothing with a short spear for her weapon,

Rose had semi-revealing armor, but I couldn't really identify a weapon on her. Maybe she was a sneaky type who hid her weapon.

"Well glad to see that Tarot is getting on the ball, now it's time to start hardcore level grinding for the boss," as soon as I finished speaking an unknown voice approached us. The newcomer spoke to us with an arrogant tone, "Well, look at this boys. A bunch of faggots have set up their base right next to the area spawning A.I.. Do you think that's right guys?" The large group of people behind him, which consisted of 8 people all grunted in agreement with their leader. "What are you thugs saying about my guild?" I asked. He smiled and showed his gnarled teeth when he spoke back, "I'm saying that you assholes better find a new place to live, Ceret Town now belongs to Sean's Army." I was amazed that people were always trying to fight others over menial things, "Tarot doesn't plan on leaving, Sean. I'd recommend you beat it before I embarrass you in front of all of your girlfriends," I said. He asked me with venom in his voice, "How about a duel, pretty boy." Rose leaned in to my ear and whispered, "Give them hell, York."

It was decided we'd play "Until 1 HP" mode. the duel would only end once HP had reached one. We faced each other 10 meters apart as light blue numbers illuminated the air around us. He had a a spiked club that was littered with metal debris. 10,9,8,7. Time slowed down as the counter approached zero. My adrenaline was coursing at 3 seconds remaining. And as zero faded away I rushed towards the ugly brute. He tried to use my rush to his advantage by swinging his club down as I neared him but I side stepped as I saw his exposed flank. I activated the short-sword skill *Double Vector* and slashed the back of his arm and the small of his back. His health was only depleted by one third after my barrage so I transitioned into free-form. I carved my dirk into his back, but he swung his club at me while I was still in mid attack. I was able to back up in time, but he caught the edge of my dagger, causing it to shatter into pixels. He laughed as he spoke, "Thought you had me, huh? I'm gonna smash your head in bitch!" He swung his club down before i was able to dodge and it caught my left shoulder. His over-confidence led him to leave his guard open, so I did what all tactical geniuses would do, I threw dirt into his eyes and swept his legs. While he was trying to get back up I kicked the club about of his hands and put him in a stranglehold. After a few seconds, his health bar started draining until his health reached. Blue words surged in the open air, "VICTORY-HIEROPHANT" Sean stomped over to me while shouting like a child, "Cheater! Hierophant is a fucking cheater." It was pitiful how bad he took that loss, "Beat it Sean, trash isn't welcome here." One of his underlings shouted, "You know it wouldn't be hard for us to kill all of you. We got two more people than you guys." Seth spoke up, "Really way your options here gentlemen, I'll have you know the bronze giant over here is level 7." Sean's groupies whispered amongst themselves as if they couldn't even fathom that high of a level on day three. Now it was my time to pitch in, "Living right next to the monster respawn point has it benefits, now get dogs!" Sean rose up with a look a vengeance and announced, "We're going now, but it's not over." Without another word, they left.

We were winding down in the inn, discussing the events from earlier this day, and I made sure to get someone into the blacksmith role; I wasn't going to let the dirk breaking incident happen again. The evening progressed calmly until Rose silently gestured me to leave the room. Once I was out she held my hand in hers, "Thank you, York, for everything." I was so happy to hear those words from her, "You're welcome Rose. I'm just trying to be the guild leader you all deserve." Rose shook her head, "No, York. For everything. You're smart, brave, and i wanted to make sure you knew that. I don't know what has hurt you in the past, but just know, I think you really are good." I was blushing until she kissed my cheek, "Goodnight, York." I didn't know how to respond so I did the only thing I was good at. I left.

Authors Note – Still looking for an editor. Any help is welcome.

-lowdes01


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